Thousands of supporters of the powerful Shiite leader Moqtada Sadr began to assemble on Friday, January 24 in Baghdad to demand the expulsion of US troops from Iraq, raising anti-government protesters' fear of being overshadowed. After Moqtada Sadr's call to "A peaceful demonstration by a million people against the American presence", checkpoints have been erected in Baghdad to secure the march.
Early Friday thousands of his followers, men, women and children, gathered in the district of Jadriyah to the cries of "Outside, outside, occupying" or "Yes to sovereignty" and waving Iraqi flags. A scene, with the message as a backdrop "Iraq is the land of the prophets, there is no place for foreigners", was installed without the names of possible contributors being announced.
Several Iraqi paramilitary factions like those pro-Iranian of Hachd Al-Chaabi, usually rivals of Mr. Sadr, must take part in the march. After losing a bit of its momentum in the face of rising tensions between Tehran and Washington, sworn enemies but active powers in Iraq, the protest movement has resumed more strongly in recent days but fears of being dethroned by Friday's march .
"Sadr does not represent us"said a teenager defiantly on a street in the capital blocked by anti-government protesters demanding early elections, an independent Prime Minister and an end to corruption on Thursday.
The protest movement launched on 1st October was relegated to the background after the assassination by the United States on January 3 in Baghdad of General Qassem Soleimani, Tehran's envoy to Iraq, and of Abu Mehdi al-Mouhandis, his Iraqi lieutenant and number two in Hashd, which had revived anti-American sentiment.
Two days later, the Iraqi parliament had voted in favor of the departure of foreign troops, including 5,200 American soldiers deployed to help the Iraqis in the fight against jihadism. Operations of the Washington-led international anti-jihadist coalition have been halted since the death of Soleimani and discussions with Baghdad on the future of American troops have not yet started, according to US coalition coordinator James Jeffrey.
Thousands of Moqtada Sadr supporters arrived in Baghdad by bus from other parts of the country. The neighborhood of Jadriyah where they gather is located on the tiger bank opposite the ultra-secure green zone which houses the American embassy and the main state institutions, and many Iraqi officials and diplomats fear that pro-Sadr will take it assault. Its many followers had already paralyzed the country by taking the green zone in 2016 to obtain government reforms.
"A politicized march"
A longtime opponent of the American presence in Iraq, Moqtada Sadr reactivated his militia after the death of General Soleimani "Mehdi's Army", who had fought American soldiers during the occupation of Iraq between 2003 and 2011. Self-proclaimed "Reformist" after supporting the protest movement, he also led the largest bloc in parliament and several of his allies held ministerial posts.
Friday's march is "Politicized"said Mariam, an anti-power protester. “We are demonstrating on behalf of the people. We are free. We cannot demonstrate on behalf of a certain party ”. Anti-power protesters conspire the United States but also Iran, whose influence has increased in Iraq. They have relaunched their movement in recent days by blocking many roads in Baghdad and in the South.
Twelve protesters were killed in clashes this week with law enforcement officials. Violence since the start of the dispute has left 460 dead, most of them protesters. Under pressure from the street, Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi has resigned but continues to manage day-to-day affairs, with political parties unable to agree on the name of a successor.
For Harith Hasan, expert at the Carnegie Middle East Center, Moqtada Sadr is trying to play on several levels by supporting different challenges. "On the one hand, he is trying to position himself as a reformist leader (…) on the other he wants to keep his image of leader of the resistance to "the american occupation" " to gain favor with Iran, which wants US troops to leave the Middle East, he said.
"This march will show that Sadr is still able to mobilize crowds" and it will give him, according to the expert, more legitimacy, if other groups join, to influence the choice of the future prime minister.
